


New beginnings

by m_findlow



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 00:35:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13422960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_findlow/pseuds/m_findlow
Summary: Thea is at a crossroad in her life when a visitor returns





	New beginnings

Thea was curled up on the couch, engrossed in a novel as the candlelight flickered around her, a soft scent of vanilla hanging in the air. When had she last indulged in such a simple pleasure. That was all about to change. As of tomorrow there'd be a whole lot more of that sort of thing in her life, now that she'd decided to leave Team Arrow.

'A little bird told me you're leaving.'

The voice didn't startle her, nor was she any longer surprised at how her guest visitor constantly made his presence in her house. She didn't even look up from her book.

'Don't tell me you'll actually miss me,' she quipped.

'Don't I always?' he replied, gently stepping from the shadows and pacing towards that couch, stopping just short.

Frustrated, she closed the book and finally met his gaze, avoiding looking at the gloved hand that rested in his remaining one. 'What will you do now that there's no psychopath killer for you to tether yourself to?'

He perched on the end of the couch and considered her. 'I don't know. What do you think I should do?'

'Crawl into a very deep, very dark hole, and never come back,' she growled.

He chuckled with mirth and it irritated her. Even her insults failed to penetrate his armour. 'You'd like that wouldn't you?'

She didn't respond.

'I thought I might spend some time travelling.'

'I hear Nanda Parbat is lovely this time of year.'

'I was thinking more Europe. Although, it's always nicer with two.' He waited until she looked up, locking eyes with her.

She let out her own mirth filled laugh. 'You honestly expect me to want to go with you?'

'What else will you do now that there's no deluded, self-proclaimed hero of the city to tether yourself to?'

'Touche,' she said, squirming uncomfortably.

'Do you remember the year we spent together in Corto Maltese?'

She crossed her arms over, 'I remember all the lies you fed me.'

'Lies meant to protect you. You should be grateful for that.'

She begrudgingly moved her book down on the sofa next to her. How many times were they going to have variations on this particular conversation?

'I might have been, if a normal father had taught me those lessons,' she replied, 'but then you went and used me to kill Sarah, bargained my life so you could continue being Rhas al Ghul, and were prepared to let the whole world burn provided you could spend the rest of your life stuck in Damien Darhk's little fabricated utopia.'

'All things I did for you, whether you choose to believe it or not. Your life always came first.'

Thea scoffed and fix him with a firm glare.

'Is that what you told yourself the night Tommy died? Did he come first then?'

She watched as he stiffened, and the playful smirk at the edges of his mouth slipped away. It was rare to have the upper hand. In battle sometimes, but in conversation almost never. It pleased her.

He tried not to let the sigh of vexation pass his lips.

'My purpose was to teach you to be stronger than you knew you were capable of, so that you could arm yourself against foes when I couldn't be there to protect you myself. It seems perhaps I did too good a job. Then again, perhaps I have Moira to thank for that. She was stronger than I ever gave her credit for as well. She tried to protect you from me by setting the League upon my trail. Everything that happened thereafter was because of her.'

She tensed up, pulling her legs tighter under her. 'Don't you dare talk about my mother.'

'You are our daughter, whether you like it or not.'

'Robert was my real father.'

Malcom cocked his head. 'Was he? And where was he when you needed him most? Enjoying the high life with your brother aboard the Gambit. He was no better a man than the rest of us. He cheated on your mother long before she cheated on him.'

She tried not to remember her teenage years. The parties, the drugs, the arguments with her mother, Walter trying to be supportive, but all the while wanting to understand why her father and Oliver had abandoned her.

'You and Tommy and more alike than you know,' he said.

'We both had fathers that weren't there for us,' she agreed, referring to Malcom more than she was Robert.

'Exactly.'

Thea was surprised to hear Malcolm agreeing with her. She sensed that he wanted to say more.

'I left it too late to try and fix things with Tommy, and I will regret that, always. But I left so that I could learn how to be stronger to protect my family at any cost.'

'A shame they didn't teach you how to not be a psychopath.'

He chuckled at ther comments.

'If you really thought I was that dangerous, you'd have killed me long ago, instead of letting me sit on your couch. I might be dangerous, but not to you.'

Thea bristled but tried to remain steady. She knew he was dangerous, but he always had a way of charming people with words.

'Slade's mirakuru warriors, Rhas al Ghul, Damien Darhk,' he listed them off. 'I tried to protect you from them all.'

'And I still died if you recall. Oliver brought me back.'

'And look at the price he made you pay for that, or have you forgotten your blood lust?'

She glared back.

'I still remember girl who put me up in her penthouse, tending my wounds after she sold me out to Rhas. I forgave her. I wonder when she'll return and tell you to forgive me the things I've done. She would say that given the chance, things might be different this time around. She might see that a father would do anything for his children and only ask that they love them in return.'

He stood up and pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket, leaving it on the small side table.

'There's a villa an hour's drive from Florence. Inside you'll find the address and a key. You might want to brush up on your Italian.'

He exited the apartment just as silently as he'd entered, truly earning his nickname as The Magician.

 

She looked at the envelope and considered it, picking it up and tapping it against her lips. Was there a hidden agenda now like there had been so many times before? She thought she'd finally been able to sift through all the lies to uncover the truth underneath, but this left her feeling just as confused. If she thought about it too much, she'd come to realise that he had been there when she'd needed him, and that he'd never stood in her way, letting her tread her own path. He may not have liked Oliver, but he hadn't stopped her from making him an integral part of her life, standing by his side in whatever crusade he was fighting. He also hadn't stood in her way when it came to love. Neither Roy or Alex had ever been threatened by Malcolm. If he wanted her in his life, he'd shown that he was still prepared to share.

She let out a long breath. Maybe things were different now, or could be different now. If things were ever going to work out between them they'd both need a fresh start. She chewed the corner of the envelope, knowing she had no plans yet about what she was intending doing with her life. A vacation was definitely in order and Europe was nice this time of year. She wasn't about to go straight Malcolm's door, but she didn't worry about details like timing or addresses. Malcom had a way of finding her no matter where she went.


End file.
